Cotton-seed huller.



No. 731,988. PATENTED JUNE 23. 1903.

P. A. WELLS. COTTON SEED HULLER.

APPLICATION FILED 001223, 1902.

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' F. A. WELLS.

COTTON SEED HULLER. APPLIOATION rmm 001'. 2a, 1902. E

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r I I I Witnesses a6??? W UNITED STATES Patented June 23, 1903.

FRANK A. WVELLS, OF FLORENCE, KANSAS.

COTTON-SEED HULLER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N0. 731,988, dated June 23, 1903. Application filed October 23, 1902. Serial No. 128,455. (No model.)

To (ZZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, FRANK A.WELLS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Florence, in the county of Marion, State of Kansas, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Seed-Hullers, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

In this class of machines when the knives of the cylinders are changed to a sharp edge such change invariably throws the cylinders more or less out of balance, and in order to balance the cylinders itis necessary to remove them from the machine and suspend them upon suitable supports, so as to note the heavy point in the circumference in order to correct them, and having evenly-balanced cylinders, so as to secure the most efficient work in a machine of this character. Most machines of this character are mounted upon very small platforms, and as a result there is not sufficient room upon said platforms upon which to mount the cylinder outside of the machine to balance it, thus necessitating removing the cylinder to the floor, which is an expensive operation and often very inconvenient.

It is the purpose of my invention to avoid the objections above noted by means which will be hereinafter described, whereby the cylinder maybe balanced Within the machine; and with the objects stated and minor objects my invention consists of the parts and combinations of parts, as will be hereinafter more fully set out.

In the drawings, Figure l is a side elevation of the cotton-seed huller with my invention embodied. Fig. 2 is a similar view showing the cylinder in position to be balanced. Fig. 3 is an elevation of the casting forming part of the machine. Fig. etisatop plan view of the casting shown in Fig. Fig. 5 is a detail View, and Fig. 6 is a side elevation, of the clamp which fastens around the outside of the concave knives. Fig. 7 is a side elevation of a clamp. Fig. Sis a perspective View of my machine, showing the cylinder in dotted lines elevated in a position for balancing.

1 represents the frame, two opposite sides of which are provided with a circular opening 2, in which the journal of the cylinder 3 is journaled, said cylinder being provided with knives of the usual pattern-such, for

instance, as disclosed in several of my patents, most notably in Patent No. 236,470, dated January 11, 1881. The sides in which the cylinder is journaled are cut away, as at 4, in order that the journal-bearings may be introduced into the circular opening 2.

5 is a casting substantially L-shaped, having legs 6 7, the leg 7 being beveled on one side to correspond with the cut-away portion in the sides of the casings, while the lower end of said leg is concave, as at 8, in the same arc as opening 2, thus completing the outline of the circular opening in which the journal is secured, said concave portion 8 bearing down upon the journal and preventing its vertical displacement. The leg 6 of the casting 5 is provided with a flange 9, which is adapted to be secured by bolts 10 to the side of the easing 1, as shown in several of the figures in the drawings. It will be noticed that the upper edge of thecasting 5 is straight throughout its length and that said casting is of such length that it extends from one edge of the casing to a point beyond the center of the journal in the opening 2. 11 is a casting having a depending flange 12, by means of which said casting is secured to the upper edge of the casting 5. Said casting 11 is adapted to be fastened to the apron usually employed in machines of this character, said aprons forming the top of the hulling-machine.

When it is desired to change the knives or sharpen them, it is always necessary to balance the cylinder in order that the machine may do perfect work, and, as stated, it has heretofore been a very expensive as well as inconvenient and laborious job to balance these cylinders. In the present machine when it is desired to balance the cylinder it is only necessary to remove the casting 11 from the casting 5, remove the casting 5 from the sides of the machine, elevate the cylinder, so that its journals are above the plane of the top of the machine, and then replace the castings 5 in their proper position in thesides of the casing, the top of said casting providing a perfect straight edge from end to end to a point beyond the center of the working position of the cylinder, whereby the cylinder may be lowered upon said straight edge of the casting 5 and balanced in that position within the outlines of the machines, thus ebis very simple at the same time it is a very efnals are within the openings 2, the castings again replaced and secured by means of the bolts 10 to side of the machine, and the casting 11 secured to the straight edge of the casting 5 by means of the bolts 12, and finally the press secured in its position.

Thus it will be seen that while my invention fective one and obviates needless transporting of parts and the expense incident thereto. In Fig. 7 I have illustrated a form of clamp adapted to fasten around the outside of the concave knives. This clamp is constructed in two sections 13 14, the clamp 15 havingv one of its faces in an arc whereby the passage of a bolt '16 through the center of said clamp guides the clamps 13 and 14 in a circle.

After the huller has been run some length of time the knives naturally become dull, and therefore have to be turned to a sharp edge. Invariably when the knives are changed the cylinder is thrown out of balance, and in order to rebalance the machine the center bolt 8 is removed from the cylinder and the screweye 8 secured in its place, said screw-eye being provided with a chain 8, attached to a suitable hoisting mechanism. When the caps or plates 5 are removed and laid aside, the

, cylinder is then hoisted by means of a chain 8 out of its bearingsay a foot above the framethe plates 5 are then replaced in their proper position and suitably secured in the sides of the machine, the tops of the castings 5 providing straight edges on each side of the machine upon which the cylinder is lowered and supported, the cylinder being free to be manipulated upon said straight edge, so as to secure a proper balance, the balance being attained by means of 7 suitable balancingweights in the interior of, the cylinder, said balancing-weights being common and in practice,and therefore not claimed or shown in this application. During the balancing of the cylinder the eyebolt 8 is detached therefrom, so as to leave the cylinder free to revolve. After the cylinder has been properly balanced the eyebolt 8 is again attached to theicylinder in order that the cylinder may be elevated by means of the chain 8 and suitable hoisting mechanism, so that the plates 5 may again'be removed to permit lowering of the cylinder into its proper hearings in the machine, and as soon as it is in this position the plates 5 are again replaced and suitably secured as described and the eyebolt 8 and the chain removed.

Having thus described my invention, the following is what I claim as new therein:

1. In a machine of the character described, having cut-away portions in two of its sides, in which the cylinder is journaled, a removable L shaped casting having an upper straight edge and adapted to fit within said cut-away portion.

2. In a machine of the character described, the combination of a casing, two sides of which are cut away to form journal-bearings,

for the cylinder, of an L-shaped casting constructed to be detachably secured in said cutaway portions, and having a straight upper edge extending beyond the center of the journal-bearing so as to form a bearing upon which the cylinder may be balanced within the lines of the machine.

The foregoing specification signed this 24th day of September, 1902.

FRANK A. WELLS. In presence of C. F. BRUNN, J. S. KOEBELE. 

